Friday, January 2, 2009

The Vanity Transformation

While new tile and granite are an exciting aspect of this project, it is the vanity that actually incurred the most change.  Recall that the previous owner had the original second sink removed in favor of this drop-top vanity area.  Bad news: we needed to change that.  Good news, the plumbing was already in the wall!
 Of course, demolition played a significant part of the change - as it did for the rest of the room.  Here, the old sink was removed along with the entire countertop to make room for the additional cabinet and sink. 
 
Once the new cabinet and base for the countertop were added, the overall structure was ready for the true transformation.

Granite countertop and backslash!  Notice the pre-cut areas.  Not much room for error.  Everything had to be exact (or at least damn close!) for it all to come together.

Note the power outlet on the backsplash.  In the original photo, it appears lower and more to the right.  Through a clever bit of engineering, Tom moved it to the left and up to gain adequate clearance from the sink.  Clever, you ask?  How it that clever?

Well, there was a triple-thickness set of 2x4 studs in the way and not much slack in the electrical wire with which to work.  He cut a shallow channel through the studs, keeping their structural integrity, allowing the outlet to be mounted on the other side.  Then, to prevent any sheetrock nails from becoming rude with the wire, he attached a steel plate across the channel to protect them.  No expensive wiring changes, no damage, no danger, no hits, no runs, no errors.  Sorry. Couldn't resist.

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